i see a couple every year do the females look the same as the males?

Nope, the male has a dark red cheek stripe and the female's is black.

The red is so dark that it is hard to distinguish at times. You can barely make it out (i think) in the male that I just photographed (blurry).

Great picture MnMan, better than I take.

A Frenchman asked me one time-"What chew call dat bird dat smash his face against de tree"?

Hahaha Thats funny!

See some fly over here often but they won't eat the suet. Even smaller woodpeckers don't feed on it. Maybe need to hang a sign up says Try it you will like it. Snow birds and a couple pair of cardinals is about our only feeder group. We have tried Peanuts in the shell and shelled but not cooked, millet, milo, and black sunflower seed as well. Guess they have too much local stuff to feed on.

Thats odd Drifter

I have the best luck with the Homemade suet

But even now being out of lard....they are eating store bought

Had a pair here at the same time a minute ago and had to take a blurry photo through two panes of dirty glass with shaky hands. I did not dare to open the windows since they are so spooky. Kind of cool to see two at a time working opposite sides of the suet. They go through it in a hurry lately.




Male on the left and female on the right.

Cool picture MnMan!!!

I was wondering the other day why all the smaller Woodpecker species are calm almost tame when I refill the feeder. But the Jumbo Lg. Birds all seem so spooky